Measuring Democracy

1. Bread and Butter Issues by Amr Hamzawy

The author identifies a number of different factors that led to the revolution in Egypt. The general feeling in most of the world is that the initial protests in Tunisia sparked a mood of change in Egyptian society. Hamzawy echoes that sentiment, and explains how that revolution helped Egypt get over the fear of dissent and stand up against the authoritarian regime.

Another more general factor instigating the protests was the economic hardships born out by the Egyptian people. The focus on more general issues affecting the day to day lives of all of Egypt made the movement even  bigger, as it appealed to a broader range of everyday citizens.

2. Three Economic Reasons Behind the Protests in Egypt by Michael Sanibel

A bit of a random news source, but this article does a good job of detailing the specific economic reasons for the protests. The three factors include corruption within the government, widespread poverty among the citizenry, and a high rate of inflation.

Sanibel backs up all of his points with data and links to their sources. He takes a more direct approach at displaying the problems that plagued Egypt prior to the revolution. Hamzawy did raise important issues, but failed to back them up with any sort of hard evidence.

Really, though, I find it hard to believe that any major news source would attempt to include hard evidence of any of their arguments. It seems like most just take the stance that if they are a news source, we are supposed to take whatever they say as fact. That is part of the problem with major media right now: the readers aren’t really supposed to ask questions, rather, just assume the story being read is valid and factual.